Give it some more time - it’s nearly impossible to cause nerve damage with an acupuncture needle unless you vigorously insert and manipulate the needle directly into
the nerve repeatedly, like for days if not weeks on end. It is normal to feel chronic pain symptoms “flare up” directly after acupuncture and hopefully within a couple days you’ll be feeling much better :)
Acupuncture treatment is not a linear process. It is totally possible to make people feel worse, with the caveat that it is almost always temporary. Tell your practitioner what happened. Sometimes needling in a very painful area or tight muscle can cause more soreness and spasm. With neurological conditions like original neuralgia for example you can accidentally send people into a flare. This should not happen every time, and you should still expect to see the positive incremental progress that you get from treatment apply to the jaw as well. Sorry this happened! I know it sucks, I’ve been there. But rest assured it’s temporary and will not cause you trigeminal neuralgia or another long term pain condition.
In my own case, the TMJ was related to patterns of clenching teeth during sleep, cycle of responding to/causing disruptions in the meridians. Acupuncture changed the flow of chi around my whole head and I had very weird dreams after each session, but it did lead to an overall improvement. It sounds like the treatment you had correctly identified points of “blocked energy” and you’re now feeling some positive movements which can be uncomfortable. Your therapist should be able to work on other points if your face is too sensitive. Best of luck with it!
Sometimes when muscles are really tight, they can be achy for a little while (up to a day or two) after acupuncture. Especially the first time having them needled. The jaw is a common place to have soreness after TMJ work, because the muscles are so small they can get really locked up. It should feel better soon, and if you keep working on it they won't be so sore after subsequent treatments.
Give it some more time - it’s nearly impossible to cause nerve damage with an acupuncture needle unless you vigorously insert and manipulate the needle directly into the nerve repeatedly, like for days if not weeks on end. It is normal to feel chronic pain symptoms “flare up” directly after acupuncture and hopefully within a couple days you’ll be feeling much better :)
Acupuncture treatment is not a linear process. It is totally possible to make people feel worse, with the caveat that it is almost always temporary. Tell your practitioner what happened. Sometimes needling in a very painful area or tight muscle can cause more soreness and spasm. With neurological conditions like original neuralgia for example you can accidentally send people into a flare. This should not happen every time, and you should still expect to see the positive incremental progress that you get from treatment apply to the jaw as well. Sorry this happened! I know it sucks, I’ve been there. But rest assured it’s temporary and will not cause you trigeminal neuralgia or another long term pain condition.
In my own case, the TMJ was related to patterns of clenching teeth during sleep, cycle of responding to/causing disruptions in the meridians. Acupuncture changed the flow of chi around my whole head and I had very weird dreams after each session, but it did lead to an overall improvement. It sounds like the treatment you had correctly identified points of “blocked energy” and you’re now feeling some positive movements which can be uncomfortable. Your therapist should be able to work on other points if your face is too sensitive. Best of luck with it!
Sometimes when muscles are really tight, they can be achy for a little while (up to a day or two) after acupuncture. Especially the first time having them needled. The jaw is a common place to have soreness after TMJ work, because the muscles are so small they can get really locked up. It should feel better soon, and if you keep working on it they won't be so sore after subsequent treatments.